Let’s be clear, Tri-City officials have no power to protect defiant businesses | Editorial

Tri-City officials who are pushing to fully open businesses despite state COVID orders are providing a false hope in the community.

City and county officials do not have that authority — period.

People are hurting and our local leaders desperately want to help, but they have no way to protect business owners from state fines if they break pandemic shutdown rules.

Koko’s Bartini in Kennewick and Kimo’s Sportsbar and Brew Pub in Richland are examples of that. Both refused to comply with new restrictions imposed in November, and for over a month the business owners served food and drinks indoors in defiance of the state order prohibiting inside dining.

Customers rallied to their cause — even chasing away liquor control officers who showed up to serve a violation notice at Koko’s — but in the end, Koko’s had to follow state orders.

The Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board voted to suspend their liquor licenses if they continued to break the rules, and Koko’s eventually lost its state liquor license temporarily because state officials decided the establishment waited too long to follow the state mandate.

But now, talk of re-opening the Tri-Cities has been renewed by Pasco City Councilman Pete Serrano, a lawyer who proposed Pasco declare an emergency and reopen the local economy in defiance of Gov. Jay Inslee’s order.

He said he wrote the ordinance with input from some local business owners, constituents and state Republican Reps. Brad Klippert, Matt Boehnke, Mary Dye and Joe Schmick.

While it did not get a majority of support at the Jan. 4 Pasco City Council meeting, Franklin County Commissioner Clint Didier now has grabbed on to Serrano’s proposal.

Didier previously said it isn’t about opening up Franklin County, but rather, he wants to be able to tell businesses that if they choose to risk a return to normal operations, “We will have their back.”

And the Kennewick City Council this week held a workshop session on the issue in the hope it could find a way to get around state restrictions.

Again, we doubt there is anything that can be done at the local level that will protect businesses if state officials decide to force compliance.

Lewis County’s Spiffy’s Restaurant and Bakery reopened its dining rooms to customers in December, and has racked up $67,000 in state fines and could face criminal charges.

It’s an extreme case, but it goes to show the seriousness of what can happen if a restaurant repeatedly ignores state warnings and shutdown restrictions in Washington state.

We understand people are losing their livelihoods, and recent reports of beloved restaurants closing are devastating.

It is heartbreaking to hear that Kennewick’s Barley’s Brewhub, which was featured two years ago on The Food Channel’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” with host Guy Fieri, must now permanently close its doors.

People are desperate and they are clinging to any glimmer of hope. When local officials talk like they have the authority to go against the state shutdown, it sets people up for disappointment.

That’s why it was wise for the Benton County Commission to wait before it approved a proposal by new Commissioner Will McKay asking the governor to allow counties to set their own rules.

Judging by the comments ahead of the meeting, people thought the county was discussing whether to open the economy up. Benton County commissioners Jerome Delvin and Shon Small said they want to make sure people are clear the proposal doesn’t do that — it only asks for the governor’s permission.

While residents may see it as an affirming gesture, we doubt Inlsee will change course any time soon.

At this point, the best way to open up the Tri-Cities is to get our COVID numbers down and meet the new metrics set out in the governor’s new “Healthy Washington — Roadmap to Recovery” plan.

Currently, The Tri-Cities-Yakima-Walla Walla region ranks the worst in the Washington state Department of Health’s first report on new metrics considered for reopening during the COVID pandemic. The new state plan launched Monday, and it’s all about improvement.

To advance, our region must decrease the trends in new COVID case rates and hospitalizations, which is the goal we all should be striving for.

Serrano, Didier and other local leaders are sticking up for our businesses, but proposals that lead people to think they can defy state orders if local officials give the go-ahead are misleading.

No matter how badly our local leaders would like to be able to fully open restaurants and other small businesses, it’s not their decision to make.

This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 11:52 AM.